The Mental Siege at Knothole
by Tortured Artist
Summary: SatAM fanfic. A mysterious prisoner of Robotnic's was brought to Knothole and ever since, the Freedom Fighters have been assaulted by strange illusions. Can they find the cause before everyone looses their mind?


The Mental Siege at Knothole

_Author's Notes: This is my first attempt at a fanfic based on the _Sonic the Hedgehog_ TV series (or _SatAM_ as known by fans). Unfortunately, I had not had the pleasure of seeing the show when it was on the air. This fanfic is not only an attempt to connect with the past, but it also celebrates the new SatAM DVD collection which I'm thrilled about. Special thanks goes to Chris Gammon who helped to authenticate this story._

Within the bowels of the nefarious Robotropolis, there was a raccoon that had her hands and feet strapped to metal clamps. Her name was Jasmine. For years, she had kept herself hidden from the rest of the world, especially from Robotnik. However, after ten years of hiding, she was finally captured. Robotnik's second-hand man, Snively, monitored the machines that proceeded to work on her. A large green band was strapped onto Jasmine's head, rendering her powerless as small robotic arms continued to fasten a small device to the back of her head.

Dr. Robotnik stepped into the lab accompanied by two SWATbots. He approached Jasmine who used some of her suppressed strength to lift her head to look at him, rage burning in her green eyes.

"I hope you are uncomfortable," said Robotnik with a smile as wretched as the mold on the walls. Snively was at the controls reaching for a lever when it suddenly turned into a snake. Snively pulled his hand away from the snake as it hissed and bit at the air. Robotnik could see what was happening, but was impassive toward the unusual sight.

Jasmine fought to maintain the illusion, but the neural inhibitor on her head drained her of her strength. She collapsed from exhaustion and the snake changed back into a lever.

"Ah Jasmine, last of the mentalists," Robotnik mused. "How does it feel to be under my control?"

_You will never get away with this, Robotnik_, said Jasmine's telepathic voice.

"Always fighting to the very last," Robotnik observed. "Although I am impressed you can still conjure hallucinations through that neural inhibitor. It just makes me all the more eager to use that same power to my own benefit." With a brief hand motion signaled by Robotnik, Snively pulled the lever and Jasmine screamed in pain as a robotic arm forced the last screw into the device on her skull. Jasmine's body fell limp as the device took control of her body.

A chuckle escaped Robotnik's throat.

"No doubt the Freedom Fighters are aware of the Doomsday Project and are plotting to stop me. With the last mentalist robbed of her control over her powers, she will be able to disable the Freedom Fighters long enough until it's too late. It is a brilliant plan, eh Snively."

"Yes sir," said Snively before adding quietly to himself, "you bubble-brained fool."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, sir."

"Good. Now begin setting up the ruse so that it becomes apparent there are plans to robotocize her, but don't actually allow it to happen. Most likely, the Freedom Fighters will know about her, rescue her and bring her to their village where they will fall right into my trap."

Robotnik wrung his hands evilly, beginning to drool a bit.

#

With it's polluted skies and its inhabitants made up of cold metal, it seemed inconceivable that anyone would willing enter Robotropolis. And yet, four lone souls, Sonic, Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine to be exact, were stealthily navigating the SWATbots and buildings in search of their mole. They hid behind a pile of garbage as Bunnie made birdcalls. Antoine, nervous as always, was shivering constantly and muttering loudly.

"Antoine, y'all get'n on my nerves," said Bunnie as she waited for a response.

"I'm not zo sure about this," Antoine replied, his knees knocking together.

"You're not sure about anything, Ant," Sonic mused, rolling his eyes.

From within the smog of the city came another birdcall similar to the one Bunnie had sent. The four walked towards the sound and it led them to a secret door that opened on the side of a pile of garbage. Inside was a secret work lab, and sitting next to the surveillance equipment was Uncle Chuck. Being a robot in a city of robots had its advantages.

"Yo Unc, what do you have for us today?" asked Sonic.

"Not much, unfortunately," said Chuck solemnly. "Ever since Robotnik gotten wise to me, it's been harder for me to obtain any information. The best I could do was obtain these basic construction designs for the Doomsday pods. I don't know what help that will do." Chuck handed a disk to Sally.

"There is some information though. A few days ago, Robotnik kidnapped a girl named Jasmine who is the last of the mentalists."

"Mentalists? You mean like psychics?" asked Sally.

"Yes. Before they were wiped out by Robotnik, the mentalists could create realistic illusions to confuse their enemies. Ever since Robotnik captured her, he's been performing experiments on her. I don't know what he's planning, but if Robotnik manages to use Jasmine's powers against us, we won't stand a chance."

"Where is she held?" Sonic asked, with eagerness.

"I just found out that she's scheduled to be roboticized in thirty minutes," answered Chuck, looking at a clock built into his wrist.

"We better intercept those SWATbots," Sally ordered. "We can't have Robotnik control her!"

"Oh yeah, time for another rescue!" said Sonic enthusiastically, pumping his fist.

"The Roboticizer is located west, three buildings from here," Chuck said, pointing in its direction.

"Thanks for the info, Unc!" Sonic shook his hand. "Gotta juice!" Sonic bolted out the door, leaving a strong gust of wind in his wake.

"What?" said Antoine, nervously. "We're not really going to take on a bunch of ze SWATbots again?"

"Oh come on, you big coward," said Bunnie as she grabbed Antoine by the arm and dragged him along with Sally running beside her. "Sometimes I think you're as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rockin' chairs!"

#

They reached the building that contained the Roboticizer without complication, but after waiting for less than a minute, Sonic was already growing impatient.

"I'm waiting," Sonic sang, tapping his foot. Through her binoculars, Sally was able to see a trio of SWATbots, two of them carrying Jasmine's limp body along by her arms.

"I see them," said Sally.

"Shall we try our usual diversion tactic?" Sonic asked with a smile.

"It might be best to make as little of a scene as possible," Sally said. "I suggest we try something a little different."

After briefly explaining the plan, everyone, including the reluctant Antoine, hid behind a corner of the building with the Roboticizer. As the three SWATbots opened the door to the building and walked inside, Sonic and Bunnie sneaked behind them stealthily. Once they were inside, Sonic did a Spin Dash and destroyed the two SWATbots holding Jasmine.

"PRIORITY ONE!" the third bot screeched. Firing a laser from its wrist. Before the third bot knew what was happening, Bunnie knocked it onto the floor using her feet and then ripped its head off with her robotic arm.

"Man, I hate using stealth attacks," Sonic said, sounding annoyed. "They're too easy."

Bunnie picked up Jasmine with her robotic arm and slumped her over her shoulder.

"I got her, lets get out of here," Bunnie said.

Thanks to their stealth attack, they were able to avoid setting off any alarms or arouse suspicion. They sought refuge inside a drainage pipe under the city. Bunnie propped Jasmine against the wall of the pipe so Sally could examine her.

"What are you looking for, Sal?" Sonic asked, curious.

"I want to make sure that Robotnik didn't put any tracking devices on her," Sally explained. Sally ran her hands along Jasmine's cloths to make sure there was nothing solid underneath to indicate any kind of tracking device. During the search, Jasmine's limp head fell forwards, revealing the device fused to her head.

"What in the hoo-hah do you suppose that is?" asked Bunnie.

"I don't know." Sally sounded grim. She pulled out her trusty pocket computer, Nicole, to help identify the device. "Nicole, scan the device."

"Scanning," said Nicole's soothing computer voice. "The device doesn't match anything I have on record. Although I don't know what it does, I can say that it is directly connected into her brain and possibly forcing her to remain unconscious."

"Oh my goodness," said Sally.

"Isn't there some way y'all can remove it?" asked Bunny.

"It's connected to her brain," Sally elaborated. "We don't have the experience, or the technology for that kind of procedure. And even if we did, there's a chance she could suffer permanent brain damage, or even death." Sally's look was forlorn.

"That Robuttnik makes me so mad," Sonic seethed, grinding his fist into his palm. "He has no right to treat people like this!"

"I say we take the little darling back to Knothole with us," Bunnie suggested. "Even if we can't get the device off her head, we can at least keep her safe from Robotnik."

"I guess that is the best thing we can do for her," Sally agreed.

Antoine took her hand and began kissing it.

"Oh my princess, you are so kind and merciful," said Antoine as he kissed her hand and continued to compliment her. Sally rolled her eyes. _What a brownnoser._

Neither of them noticed Sonic making gagging and vomiting motions behind them. Bunnie could only chuckle.

#

It was noon at Knothole, and Tails was flying toward Sally's hut. He found the front door wide open and peaked inside to find Sally working with her equipment on Jasmine, who was lying on a hospital bed. Wires were connected onto Jasmine's head as Sally used the machinery to monitor Jasmine's brain activity.

"What are you doing, Aunt Sally?" asked Tails as he walked into the room.

"Oh, Tails, you startled me." Sally directed her gaze toward the young fox. "This is Jasmine. Robotnik had planted a device in her brain and I'm running tests to find some way of safely removing it."

"What does all this mean?" asked Tails, pointing at the wavy lines on the brain monitor.

"That's Jasmine's brain activity," explained Sally. "It appears her brain is still active, but this device is somehow keeping her unconscious." She sighed out of frustration. "I just wish I knew what this device does, or how to help her."

"I'm sure you'll find a way," reassured Tails.

"By the way, that reminds me. We promised Bunnie we'd eat lunch with her today."

"Aw, I hate Aunt Bunnie's cooking!"

"Her food is good for you. You and Sonic have been eating too many chili dogs. Now come on, Tails, we're going."

He reluctantly allowed himself to be led by Sally. Little did they know that as Jasmine's body lay dormant, her mind was actively searching the village, probing their minds.

Her mind began focusing on Rotor who was in his lab brushing at one of his tusks with a toothbrush, unaware that his mind was being probed and its internal workings being tampered with. Without warning, Rotor's toothbrush caught on fire. Rotor cried out and watched the burning brush in surprise as it began to set fire to the rest of the house.

"What is going on here?" cried Rotor. He tried to reach for the sink, but the fire was spreading unusually fast, causing a large wall of fire to form in-between Rotor and the sink. Beginning to panic, Rotor turned around to run, but didn't get far when he realized that the rest of his lab was in an inferno.

"This is impossible," said Rotor. As if it had a mind of its own, the flames spread throughout the house, trapping Rotor where he stood and approaching fast. Rotor could feel pain coming from his legs as the flames began to burn him there. He began screaming in pain as the flames consumed him, burning him alive.

But he never died.

If anyone were to look inside and see Rotor, they would see him rolling around on the floor screaming for no reason. This is because Rotor was a victim of one of Jasmine's illusions. Jasmine's mind continued to search, probing fresh minds to wreak havoc on.

#

Tails and Sally were in Bunnie's house eating a new recipe for Caesar Salad Bunnie wanted to try. However, Tails was less enthusiastic about eating it than Sally.

"What's wrong, Sugah?" Bunnie asked Tails, noticing him picking at the leafy food before him. "You've barely touched your salad."

"I don't like this salad," complained Tails. He longed for a chili dog right about now.

"Oh come on, Sugah, a kit like y'all needs to eat his greens."

Tails reluctantly stabbed his salad with a fork and placed the attached pieces of tomatoes and lettuce into his mouth. He deliberately held his nose during this process.

Bunnie picked up hers and Sally's empty bowls and carried them into the kitchen while Sally made sure that Tails ate his salad.

Inside the kitchen, Bunnie placed the bowls in the sink with the intent of cleaning them, when suddenly, two SWATbots came out of nowhere and grabbed her by the arms. The bots forced her around to see Robotnik standing at the other end of the kitchen holding a weapon of some kind.

"Robotnik, how did ya'll get in here?" Bunny asked in horror.

"That is not important," Robotnik said, waving his metal hand impassively. "What is important is that I get to test my latest invention."

"Help!" shouted Bunnie as she struggled to break free from the SWATbots. Tails and Sally ran into the kitchen to discover that Bunnie was alone and fighting against nothing. This was because they couldn't see the illusion she was under.

The illusionary Robotnik aimed the weapon at Bunnie and fired. A bright beam struck Bunny, causing her to become stiff. Bunny watched in horror as her metallic limbs begin to consume the rest of her body.

"Time to finish what I started," Robotnik mused.

"No…" was all Bunny could say before her face was overcome by metal. Bunnie suddenly found herself trapped in her own body. She was still aware and was able to see and hear, but her body was devoid of feeling and control. Although technically she was under a hallucination, she was convinced she had been Roboticized.

"Aunt Bunnie, what's wrong?" Tails asked, sounding worried.

He and Sally were watching Bunnie's odd behavior, unaware of what was happening.

"Now Bunnie, I want you to gather up more of your Freedom Fighter friends and bring them here to be Roboticized," Robotnik commanded his newest drone.

"Yes, sir," came a robotic voice from Bunnie's mouth. She could only watch helplessly as her body moved toward Tails and Sally. All the while, Bunny frantically fought to regain control of the programming she thought she was under. Tails and Sally watched as Bunny approached them like a zombie.

"Must apprehend Freedom Fighters," Bunnie droned.

"What's wrong with her, Aunt Sally?" asked Tails, thinking she was pretending.

"She's acting as if she was a robot," Sally observed. Bunnie used her robotic hand to grab Tails by the wrist.

"Hey, let go!" Tails struggled to get free.

Sally attempted to help Tails break free from Bunnie's grasp, but the strength of her robotic hand could not be overcome. Not that it was necessary; Bunnie's hands let go of Tails as her body began to convulse as if she was resisting some natural urge.

"Sally...Please help me," Bunny managed to plead. Immediately, she resumed the same vacant look and ridged stance.

"Must capture Freedom Fighters," she droned in the same robotic voice. Sally grabbed Tails's arm and dragged him out of the hut.

"Aunt Sally, what's going on?" asked Tails, on the brink of crying.

"I don't know," said Sally. "We need to separate and find Sonic. We'll split up and search through Knothole. If you find him, bring him to my hut."

"Okay," said Tails. He flew off in one direction while Sally went the other. Tails flew high among the tree branches, scanning the ground below for any sign of Sonic. Outside one of the huts, Tails could see Sonic standing there. Tails dove toward Sonic and landed behind him.

"Hey Sonic, Aunt Sally needs you to come to her hut," Tails said, relieved.

But no response came from Sonic.

"Hey Sonic, can't you hear me?" Tails gripped Sonic's shoulder and forced him around to face him, only to discover that Sonic was a robot. Tails was paralyzed with fear at the sight of the glowing red eyes of the robotic Sonic.

"Must retrieve Freedom Fighters," said the robot Sonic. Tails turned around to flee when he noticed that all of his other friends were surrounding him, all of them roboticized.

"Retrieve Freedom Fighters," chorused the robots as they sluggishly marched toward Tails like zombies. Tails tried to fly away but for some reason, his tails would not come apart. A quick examination revealed that some kind of steel chain had been tied around his tails. Tails frantically tried to remove the binds, but couldn't. He was so terrified that tears began streaming down his cheeks.

"HELP! SOMEBODY, HELP ME!" shouted Tails, but no one answered his plea. He could feel the cold hands of the robots grabbing at his body, and could only scream and struggle against the figments, unable to escape the illusion he was under.

Meanwhile, the _real_ Sonic was relaxing by a nearby river outside of Knothole. His mind was wandering, mostly focusing his thoughts on chili dogs, but his peace and quiet was suddenly disturbed when a large, metallic tentacle came out of the water and grabbed Sonic by the foot, dragging him in.

"What the..." said Sonic. "This is not cool." The creature continued to pull Sonic toward the water, even while Sonic gripped the ground to pull himself out. He tried to get onto his feet, but another tentacle held down his other leg. A large creature came out of the water. It resembled an octopus, but with large green eyes and yellow skin. Sonic was held over the octopus, dangling helplessly over the creature's mouth. Sonic pulled out a power ring from his backpack and began to channel its power. The power of the ring's energy coursed through Sonic, but before he could use the power, the creature vanished and Sonic found himself back on the shore. Disoriented, Sonic had used the ring to escape from a tentacle that wasn't there and ended up flying off the ground, propelled by the ring's energy, and coming to a hard landing. The ring and its energy dissipated.

"What just happened?" asked Sonic. "Something weird is going on here. I better find Sally." Sonic ran at top speed in the direction of Knothole.

#

Although her search for Sonic was fruitless, Sally had uncovered something unusual happening in Knothole. Many of the Freedom Fighters had been acting strange as if they had lost all sense of reality. One fine example of this was finding Antoine pinned to a tree by some invisible force, shouting to an equally imperceptible being.

"What are you doing? You can't prepare Lobster Thermador with ordinary table salt!"

Sally wasn't sure what Antoine was talking about, but she could take a guess. The familiar sound of a fast moving object was heard as Sonic approached Sally.

"Hey Sal, you won't believe what happened to me at the river," said Sonic.

"Sonic, we are in big trouble right now," said Sally, grabbing the hedgehog by his shoulders. "Everyone is behaving strangely. Just look at Antoine."

"You foo-elz! The lobster needs to be grilled _inside_ ze shell not on ze outside! NOOO!" Antoine screamed, completely unaware of Sonic and Sally's presence.

"Everyone in Knothole has been behaving erratically. Rotor thinks his hut is on fire, Dulcy thinks she's shrunk to the size of a mouse, Bunnie thinks she's been Roboticized...It's like everyone is under a spell."

"Something like that happened to me earlier," said Sonic. "Just a few minutes ago, I thought some huge octopus was going to eat me, but when I used a power ring, it disappeared. It was like I was dreaming."

"I think that's what's happening to the other Freedom Fighters," said Sally. "Uncle Chuck said that Jasmine was a powerful mentalist, able to conjure hallucinations at will. I bet you anything that she is using her powers on everyone in Knothole. The power ring must have protected you from her hallucinations."

"But why is she doing this?" Sonic asked. After all, they did save her life.

"That device must be forcing her," Sally said. "We must go there and some how remove it."

"Then we better juice," said Sonic. He picked up Sally into his arms and carried her to her hut at full speed.

"NOOOO! YOU HAVE TO MELT ZE BUTTER FIRST!" Antoine continued to scream.

#

Sally turned Jasmine on her side so she could examine the device.

"It's no good," said Sally. "I'm not even sure _how _Robotnik was able to put it on her without killing her."

"Isn't there some way we can protect ourselves from Jasmine?"

"Well, perhaps we could use the Power Rings since it protected you."

"I'm afraid it's a no-go, Sal. I only have two rings left and the next one isn't due to arrive until tomorrow." Sonic said, pointing to his trusty backpack.

"Shoot. Maybe I can disable the device." Sally picked up a screwdriver, but before she could use it, the air in the hut began to grow cold and the lights began to dim, even though it was in the middle of the day.

"Hey Sal, what's wrong?" asked Sonic, oblivious to what Sally was experiencing. From Sally's perspective, she could no longer see or hear Sonic and the sudden change in atmosphere was making her very afraid and uneasy. The door to her hut opened and in stepped an ominous figure. It was her father, but he wore tattered cloths and appeared more monstrous than Sally remember him, and part of him was crystallized, like when he was outside the Zone of Silence. Glowing red eyes were staring at Sally.

"It's not real, it's not real, it's only an illusion," whispered Sally to herself.

"What's not real?" asked Sonic, still confused with Sally's capricious behavior, but Sally couldn't hear him.

"Sally, you are a disgrace to the family name," said the figment of Sally's father. "You are not fit to be my daughter!"

"Please, Father..." sobbed Sally.

"Sally, snap out of it," said Sonic. The figment struck Sally in the face with its clawed hand. Although it was an illusion, Sally fell onto the ground as the figment continued to corner her, insulting her all the way. Sally lied on the floor, sobbing and shaking with fright.

"Don't worry, Sally," said Sonic. "I can save you." Sonic pulled out a power ring with the intent on using it, but he heard a strange voice that stopped him.

_I wouldn't do that if I were you,_ said the voice. The strange thing about the voice was that Sonic didn't hear it through his ears, but in his head as if he was hearing someone else's thoughts. Before he could ponder the voice any further, Sonic suddenly found himself inside a sylvan glen. Standing before him was Jasmine, conscious. Sonic could tell that he was inside one of Jasmine's illusions and she was communicating to him through telepathy.

_Sonic, there is a way you can save the Freedom Fighters, but you will need that ring,_ said Jasmine's telepathic voice.

"What's going on here?"

_Although I have no control over my body, my mind has retained some amount of control, but I cannot free myself of the device. Right now, my mind is connected to all of my victims in order to keep the hallucinations active. Removal of the device while I'm still telepathically connected to the Freedom Fighters will kill me and everyone else. In order for me to sever the connection, you must save them from their nightmares or help them realize it is an illusion._

The illusion began to break up like a bad connection on a TV.

"What's happening?"

_The strain of fighting the device is weakening me. I cannot maintain the illusion for long. You must... save your friends... Free me..._

The illusion suddenly stopped, and Sonic found himself inside Sally's hut. Sally was still on the floor in a fetal position, sobbing and mumbling her denials. Knowing what he had to do, he placed the ring back into his backpack and ran off to find help.

#

By the time Sonic had brought his Uncle Chuck to Knothole, every one of the Freedom Fighters were acting crazy as if Sonic's absence worsened the situation.

"This is worse than I thought," said Uncle Chuck, as he watched a wolf roll onto the ground clawing at his body as if he was trying to claw at some fleas, but judging by his screams of terror, it was something much worse.

Sonic led Uncle Chuck to Sally's hut where Jasmine and Sally still remained where Sonic left them.

"This is all my fault. If only I could had obtained more information about what Robotnik was up too," said Uncle Chuck.

"Don't blame yourself," said Sonic. "We just need to disable that device and we'll be safe."

Uncle Chuck nodded and withdrew some equipment from his tool kit and began working on removing the device. It wasn't long before he said, "It's no good. It will take me days just to figure out how this device works."

"Perhaps Jasmine knows how the device works," said Sonic.

"Perhaps you're right," said Uncle Chuck. "I remember that mentalists had the power to form what is called a mind link. It's a physical process where a mentalist can merge her mind with someone else. It's like two minds coming together to form one, controlling two bodies at once. Perhaps your power ring can weaken the device enough to enable her to mind link with you."

"This all sounds kind of hokey, but... all right." Sonic withdrew the power ring from his backpack. He placed the ring into Jasmine's hand. Sonic closed his eyes, tapping into the power of the ring and channeling it into himself and Jasmine. The effect was immediate. Sonic could feel Jasmine's consciousness enter his own. Chuck could only watch as Sonic became tense. Sonic's eyes began to glow a soft purple color then quickly faded.

"Whoa, what's going on here?"

_Relax, Sonic,_ said Jasmine's telepathic voice from within Sonic's head. _Our consciousnesses are now linked telepathically. Our minds are now one. As long as I'm in your head, you can see the hallucinations your companions see. You must free each one from their personal nightmares._

"Sonic, are you alright?" asked Chuck.

"I'm fine, Unc. Jasmine and I will help free the Freedom Fighters. You stay here and keep working on that device." Chuck, not sure what Sonic was up to, continued working without another word. Meanwhile, Sonic was staring at Sally curled up and crying in the corner. "Okay, Jasmine, lets kick some hallucinated butts."

All of a sudden, the room became dark and cold. Sonic could see Sally's hallucination of her father in all his monstrosity. He was slashing at Sally, cutting her skin with the crystals on his hands.

"Sally!" Sonic charged the king, but before Sonic could make contact, he smacked Sonic in the stomach with his right hand. Sonic hit the ground, rivulets of blood oozing from gashes on his chest. "Hey, what gives? I thought this was an illusion.

_It is, but your mind can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality. Real or not, the illusion will feel real._

"Thanks for the late warning." Sonic was on his feet, ready for another attack. This time, he spin dashed into the king's legs, knocking him over. Sonic leaped over into the air and came crashing down upon him, shattering the figment into pieces. With the king gone, the figment, as well as Sonic's and Sally's injuries, disappeared. Sonic walked to Sally who was still lying on the ground sobbing.

"Sal, come on, snap out of it." Sally timidly managed to get herself out of her fetal position. Sonic gripped her hand. "It's alright, it's gone now." Sonic was surprised to see that Sally had been crying.

"That was terrible."

"Sonic, you need to hurry and save the other Freedom Fighters," reminded Chuck.

"Oh yeah, gotta juice." Just like that, Sonic accelerated, disappearing in a blur of blue.

Jasmine mentally directed Sonic toward Rotor's house, set ablaze thanks to the illusion that Sonic could see. Sonic cautiously approached the fire, feeling the heat against his skin.

"Rotor, are you in there?" He could hear screams coming from the inside. He took a deep breath, gearing himself for what he had to do, albeit reluctantly. He tore through the wall of the workshop, the heat of the flames burning his flesh. Working through the pain, he managed to find Rotor on the ground, his skin blackened. Even though he was burning alive, he was still screaming and flailing. Sonic picked him up onto his back, a feat not terribly easy since he was kicking and flailing. Sonic carried him out of the building, slowly being burned alive by the fire. Determined to save Rotor, he worked through the pain as he dragged him out of his house. Rotor lied onto the ground, the burns on his skin still smoldering. Sonic, who was not as injured, began shaking Rotor.

"Snap out of it." Rotor calmed down, and once he did, the illusions disappeared, including all the damage and injuries. Rotor sat up, amazed at it all.

"Wha...what had just happened?"

Sonic gave him a pat on the back. "Rotor, you need to loose some weight." And with that, Sonic was gone to help the next victim.

#

Six hours later.

Tails was backed against the wall of a hut. The real Bunnie still under the impression she's a robot had cornered him. Bunnie grabbed Tails's arm.

"Must retrieve freedom fighter," said Bunnie in a robotic voice.

"Aunt Bunnie, please let go of me," cried Tails. Other robots were simulated, leaving no place to escape. Sonic ran into the robots head first, taking down several of them in his wake. The robots were easily smashed to pieces with just a few quick spins.

"Man, if that is the best Jasmine can come up with, then she's got one weak imagination." Sonic dusted off the imaginary debris from the robots. The only robot that remained was Bunnie who still held the panicking Tails in both arms. "What am I going to do?"

_Bunnie still thinks she is a robot. To convince her otherwise, you must reveal her living qualities with the help of tactile sensations._

Sonic scratched his head in confusion. "Okay, so how do I do that?"

_Robots lack some senses like smell, taste, and touch. Show her something she can smell or try pinching her. Robots can't feel pain._

"Hmm, something she can smell. I think I can arrange that."

Sonic ran off and immediately returned with a chili dog in hand. The smell of cheese, onions, and chili permeated the air around the dog, enticing Sonic to eat it. He licked his lips and opened his mouth.

_Don't eat it._

Sonic grumbled in complaint. He held the chili dog in front of Bunnie's face, surprising her with its scent. Sonic then pinched Bunnie on her living arm. She cried out in pain.

"This can't be. What is happening?"

"Bunnie, you're not a robot. Snap out of it." The illusion faded away, and Bunnie found herself back to normal, clutching Tails by his arms. Bunnie laid her living hand on Tails's face.

"Tails, calm down," she said soothingly. "It's all right." Tails was surprised to see the robot of Bunnie talking to him like normal. Sonic, who also looked like a robot, said to him, "Tails, you're hallucinating. What you are seeing is not real. It's just an illusion." Tails ran his hand along Bunnie's living arm. It felt like cold metal, but as the illusion faded, it changed to Bunnie's soft fur. Tails and Bunnie stared at each other, both relieved but confused. Sonic sighed in relief that he had finally freed everyone.

"Well that's a relief. Now I better see if Chuck has got that device off Jasmine." Sonic took off running. He ran back to Sally's house with a half eaten chili dog in his hand by the time he got there.

"Okay, I've saved all of them..." Sonic stared in shock. Sally and Uncle Chuck were gathered around Jasmine, but a strange purple slime had her completely surrounded.

"What kind of hallucination is this?" asked Sonic, dropping his chili dog.

_This is not a hallucination,_ said Jasmine. _This is ectoplasm, a psychic's last defense._

"What do you mean 'last defense?'"

_The device on my head is still controlling my powers. It's now creating ectoplasm to fight back._

"You guys better get outta here cuz this time, that slime is real." Sally and Uncle Chuck, although curious as to how Sonic knew that, followed him out of the building. The ectoplasm oozed out of the building like some sort of living blob with Jasmine contained inside its center. The huge mass of ectoplasm shaped itself into a ten-foot tall, humanoid shaped blob. The other Freedom Fighters could only run for cover as the blob began flinging its massive glob arms every which way.

"Jasmine, tell me how to stop this thing," said Sonic from a safe distance.

_The reason why ectoplasm is a psychic's last defense is because ectoplasm drains a lot of energy from the user's body. You must force the device to over exert my energy by creating more ectoplasm._

"But how will that stop it?"

_If my psychic energy is completely drained, then I will die, leaving the device powerless._

Sonic was horrified by the prospect. "I can't just let you kill yourself."

_It's all right, Sonic. This device cannot be removed, and so long as I'm alive, it will use me to harm others. And in death, I can finally rejoin my family in the afterlife._

"But I..."

_Please, do this for me._

Sonic knew that she was probably right. However, finding a way of over exerting Jasmine's energy without causing more damage or hurting anyone was going to be difficult. Sonic ran up to the huge blob and shouted, "Hey, over here. Remember me?" The blob reached with a ooze tentacle in an attempt to grab the hedgehog. Sonic dodged the tentacle with ease, but a second one was already out to grab him. Sonic dodged the tentacle with an almighty leap. He was able to dodge the second tentacle but just barely. Sonic began to run away from the blob, its multiple limbs chasing him. The blob was not very mobile, so it relied on stretching itself out to catch Sonic. However, on the other side of the blob, Freedom Fighters were throwing rocks at it. The blob stretched itself from the other side, reaching for the new attackers. Sonic immediately made a hard U-turn, and was barely able to reach them in time to push them aside out of harms way. A leopard mother and her cub on another side of the blob was targeted by the blob. Sonic grabbed the two before the blob's tentacles could grab them.

The blob now had three sets of coiling blob tentacles reaching in three different directions. The tentacles contracted back into the body, and Sonic noticed that the blob monster had increased in size from ten-feet to approximately fifteen-feet.

_So the more he stretches himself, the bigger it gets,_ thought Sonic. _If I'm going to beat this thing, I need to get it to some place with more room._

Sonic ran up in front of it again. "Is that all you've got." Once again, the tentacles reached out to grab Sonic. Thanks to the extra mass of the blob, it was able to stretch farther, but Sonic was still able to get away. "If you want me, you're going to have to catch me." The huge blob lumbered toward Sonic. Without any solid supports, the blob shifted from side to as it walked. With each step, the legs were being squashed under its own weight. Luring the monster out of the village was a process that was too slow for Sonic's attention span.

"I'm waiting." Sonic lured the monster into the center of a clearing. "Alright, now lets see how fast you can really keep up." Sonic pulled out a ring and began to channel its energy. Sonic began to feel energized. Once, the blob reached for him, he began to run, but not running away. Instead, he ran in a circle, moving so fast that he looked like a blue blur. The blob tried to grab Sonic, but Sonic effortlessly dodged the blob's reaching tentacles. The blob then resorted to expanding, growing in size in an attempt to cut off Sonic. The monster was like a huge wall of slime, expanding outward in a huge circle. As it grew, more ectoplasm was made to compensate. Sonic expanded the radius of his path with each circuit he ran around the blob. The blob grew so large that Sonic found himself running through the trees, making it harder for him to maintain his speed.

The blob continued to expand, smothering all the trees and plants it came in contact with. A blob tentacle reached for Sonic. He dodged out of the way, but with so much foliage in his way, there wasn't much room to escape through. He immediately saw the tree in front him. With reflexes as fast as he, he slowed down enough to dodge the tree with a mere inch away from contact. But then his foot got caught on an exposed root. Sonic tripped over the root and crashed face first into a mud puddle.

"Ew," said Sonic in disgust. Before he could get up, the tentacle grabbed him and began to envelope him. "Uh oh, not good." The blob began to engulf him. The ectoplasm oozed up his body, binding his arms and legs. The ectoplasm moved up to Sonic's neck then stopped. From within the blob, Jasmine began to convulse violently, her energy depleted. The ectoplasm slowly faded away into nothingness. Sonic got back onto his feet. He saw Jasmine lying in the field, her body turning purple as it changed into ectoplasm. Her body began to melt away, but as it did, it exposed another _body_ as if the ectoplasm was melting off of something else. Once the ectoplasm faded away, the device on Jasmine's head lay motionless on the ground. The second body stood up. She appeared to be Jasmine, but she looked more like white smoke. She flew wisp-like to Sonic, her telepathy filling Sonic's mind.

_Thank you, Sonic the Hedgehog. I wish I could stay and help you with your cause, but I must go now and rejoin my family so I can rest in peace._

"I'm just glad it's all over. This psychic stuff is just creepy."

Jasmine laughed.

_You're a funny one, Sonic. Maybe some day when you depart this mortal coil, we will meet again in the here after._

"What does that mean?"

_Good-bye for now._

Jasmine placed her lips on his, but because she was intangible, Sonic could only feel a soft warmth as if there was warm air being blown onto his lips. Jasmine then faded away while Sonic spit and rubbed his lips saying, "Yuck, I've been kissed by a ghost." As he was trying to shake off his disgust, Sally, Chuck, and Bunnie appeared from the wood.

"Sonic, are you alright?" asked Sally.

"Where's Jasmine?" asked Uncle Chuck.

"I'm afraid she's gone," said Sonic solemnly. "There was nothing I could do to save her." Bunnie put a hand to his shoulder.

"But y'll saved the rest of us, and as a treat, I'll make something good for dinner." This cheered Sonic up quickly.

"Really, that sounds great." Sonic smiled as he imagined a big plate of chili dogs.

#

"What the heck is this?" Sonic was at the table in Bunnie's house, looking at a pan with a strong smelling casserole with an ugly skin-tone color.

"This is my Mama's tofu casserole," explained Bunnie. "The best part is the hint of curry in the spinach." Tails was sitting next to Sonic, and he was looking just as green as Sonic.

"Why can't I just have a chili dog?" complained Sonic.

"You two have been eating too many chili dogs," said Sally as she scooped the casserole onto their plates. "Now you two be quiet and eat." Reluctantly, Sonic and Tails pinched their noses and placed a forkful into their mouths.

**The End**


End file.
